Josh Abbott Band, ‘Touch’ – Lyrics Uncovered

The lyrics to the Josh Abbott Band‘s current single ‘Touch’ pick up where their previous hit, ‘Taste,’ left off. Penned by Abbott, along with the iconic Radney Foster and Jay Clementi, the song is right up the band’s alley — even though it was originally written for another superstar.

“I went to Radney Foster’s house [to write with him and Jay that day], which in itself was like crazy,” Abbott beams to Taste of Country. “I had never written with Radney before. We get over there, and he gets a phone call right as we sit down to write. We were trying to figure out what to write about and were throwing out ideas. He took the call and came back in the room. It was Sea Gayle, his publishing company, owned by Brad Paisley. They were looking for a love ballad – something rangy, a little sexual, and something that’s just a great love song. I was like, ‘I got this! That’s the only thing I’m good at writing – that and songs about Texas!’ [laughs]”

“We sat down and were throwing out ideas,” Abbott continues. “Radney even said, ‘I wish we could write something like that ‘Taste’ song that you did a while back.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve always wanted to write a sequel called ‘Touch.’ I have a couple of ideas.’ I immediately thought that was stupid … why did you say that? Radney Foster does not want to write the sequel to ‘Taste’! You’re an idiot! Radney was like, ‘Sounds great!’

“Can’t stop staring, my eyes keep taking off what you’re wearing / I just want your touch again, to feel your body giving in / You’re a bad liar; that smile gives away what you desire / You want to feel my touch again,” they wrote in the lyrics.

“We started writing it, and of course Radney came up with the melody, because he’s amazing at it,” Abbott says, praising him. “I don’t even know how, because I’m not a guitarist, but I some how wrote the intro. It was like the only intro I’ve ever written. Of course our producer tweaked it a little bit, but I was so proud of it.”

“Let’s just lie here together, chasing forever / I can’t get enough of your love / Brave and relentless, sweet and defenseless / I can never get enough / Every time we touch,” they wrote in the song’s chorus.

“We wrote the song, and right as we were getting done, we were like man … this is great!” Abbott says with a smile. “It was exactly what [Sea Gayle] wanted. They called and said Brad’s written a couple of love songs that he thinks is going to work. I thought well hey … we got a good song out of it. The guys and I went into the studio with it, and I think everybody was on the same page in terms that it could be a huge song for us. I love the song, and I think it came out great.”